Leave A Comment

If your love of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” extends past seeing the movie repeatedly in theaters into internet fandom, then odds are you know that there’s one stormtrooper that’s captured the attention of meme-makers across the globe. Yep, the riot control trooper that engages in combat with Finn in the ruins of Maz Kanata’s castle has become an internet superstar, earning his own entry in the meme encyclopedia Know Your Meme.

But there’s more to TR-8R (the name given to the character based on his sole line, “Traitor!”) than is glimpsed in that brief scene — and Lucasfilm is getting the word out about him. StarWars.com has confirmed what was previously only a fan theory: TR-8R is indeed FN-2199, a stormtrooper and former squad-mate of Finn’s.

FN-2199 plays a role in “Before the Awakening,” a “Force Awakens” tie-in novel (one of the 6 “Star Wars” books you should read immediately) written by Greg Rucka with art by Phil Noto. The novel also gave the character a nickname, “Nines.” Lucasfilm also confirmed that the red-headed trooper seated in the image below is FN-2199.

Keep an eye out to see how the fast-moving TR-8R meme incorporates this newly confirmed information. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is, of course, breaking records in theaters right now.